Services: Mass was Tuesday at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Lewisville.

Chris Wessling had “ink in his blood,” a close friend said Wednesday of the longtime journalist whose professional career included stints at the San Antonio Light and most recently San Antonio Magazine.

Marc Bona, a friend of Wessling's since college, recalled his fun-loving former colleague who lured Bona to an editing job at the now-closed Light.

“He was only serious about two things: his family and his job,” Bona said. “He was an all-around good guy.”

Richard Franks, CEO of Open Sky Media, the magazine's parent company, called Wessling “an extremely talented editorial person” whose supportive personality and drive were making a difference at the local magazine.

“He really had a vision and was a great leader. He knew when to push and encourage and when a little humor was needed,” said Rebecca Fontenot, the magazine's editor-in-chief. “He knew his craft.”

Mary Nelle Wessling, who met her husband in high school in Davenport, Iowa, described him as quirky and spontaneous, and “off-the-wall funny.”

“Probably the happiest man I've known,” she said. “He enjoyed life. He was one of those people who just soaked it up.”

She said his interest in journalism came from his father, who edited a Catholic newspaper in their hometown.

Wessling worked at his hometown paper in high school and at the Daytona Beach News-Journal after college before coming to San Antonio in 1989.

He loved his two years in San Antonio, his wife said, because it was different and because the people “were so friendly and warm.”

Wessling's familiarity with Texas made it easy for him to return to the Dallas area in 2005 to work at the magazine for Fort Worth-based American Airlines, and his knowledge of San Antonio was part of the reason he returned to the city.

“It was a great career opportunity for him,” Mary Nelle Wessling said.

While the family was likely to move here soon, she said, Wessling commuted to work on weekdays and kept his family in Lantana near Dallas so his son Cole could finish his senior year. It was typical of a man who placed family first, Mary Nelle Wessling said.